What is the ontological argument? One philosopher has said it is "an attempt to prove the existence of God from pure reason alone."^l The word ontology comes from two Greek words meaning "the study or theory of being." It is often referred to as the "a priori" approach and as one theologian has said the a priori argument is "one that follows from the meaning of the terms alone."² The investigation of being is difficult to say the least. "As for defining the word 'being', let us admit that it is extremely difficult."³ Christians have long believed that God is "Being" and that "Being" is knowable. The being of God is a subject that church doctors, theologians, and pastors must understand if they intend to engage fruitfully in the apologetical enterprise. They should give attention to the work of the church fathers to help understand the ontological argument. Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas are three significant theologians and they have contributed to the investigation of the ontological argument which is indicated in their writings.

Augustine is noted as one of the most brilliant of all Christian thinkers, but he is not noted for his investigation of the being of God. It is fair to say, however, that Augustine must be interpreted in his context. He was fighting battles that were often more anthropological, rather than theological. The Pelagian controversy, in which Augustine devoted much of his efforts, was more anthropological than theological. This does not mean that Augustine did not show any interest in theology proper or the ontological argument. One of the problems with understanding the ontological argument is that any reflection on the nature or character of God indicates the preponderance of the being of God, but may not be considered within the range of the ontological argument. For instance, in his Confessions, Augustine said, "0 Lord, you are eternal. . .Your goad was thrusting at my heart, giving me no peace until the eye of my soul could discern you without mistake."⁴ His basic epistemology is not empirically oriented at that point. Notice, he said to know God "without mistake." We all know that our senses will fool us at some point, although our senses are "basically" reliable. Augustine was aware that the eternality of God is a apriori and that Being is evident, without mistake.

Augustine also said "that no determining form by which any mutable being is what it is - whatever be the reality, mode or nature of that form - could have any existence apart from Him who truly exists because His existence is immutable."⁵ If the ontological argument tries to prove the existence by reason alone then Augustine may be found guilty.

Augustine understood that one could not investigate the being of God with a "tabula rasa." "He [Augustine] aspired to know nothing, he tells us, but God and the soul; but these he strove with all his might to know altogether."⁷ Although Augustine's explicit statements are not "ontological" classics, he has no doubt influenced subsequent church doctors to make classic statements about the ontological argument.

Saint Anselm of Canterbury is the classic Christian thinker to consider when one considers the ontological argument. "He systematically set out to prove the existence of God [or the being of God] by rational reflection alone."⁸ His two greatest works were Monologion and Proslogion. The Proslogion contains his classical treatment of the ontological argument. Anselm's argument could thus be stated:

Anselm is wrestling with nothingness. His proposition requires it. Anselm begins with the idea of God and then he is driven to the concept of being [existence] . Anselm has been correctly accused of being Platonic at this point. The idea of being is Platonic through and through, but no one can prove that Anselm was appealing to Plato as a source to understand the ontological argument.

Just as Plato, Anselm searched for reality and that is what drove him to investigate the being of God. The significant difference between Plato and Anselm is that Anselm believed and trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation. One church historian, Philip Schaff, has said that "Anselm was one of those rare characters in whom lofty reason and childlike faith work together in perfect harmony."^ll Schaff is, of course, referring to the famous statement of Anselm: "I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order that I may understand, for of this I feel sure that, if I did not believe, I would not understand."¹² This statement is problematic because it sounds like Anselm puts faith before reason. The two primary works of Anselm that address the ontological argument are relatively short. Both works consist of less than ten pages each. Anselm is dead, therefore we cannot ask him to expand on the subject, so hermeneutical principles must be applied to try to grasp what was in the mind of Anselm. In the Proslogion Anselm puts faith before reason. But, in the Monologion he says we come to understand God "by the force of reason alone."¹³ He goes on to say "that, as reason leads the way and follows up these considerations, he advances rationally to those truths of which, without reason, he has no knowledge."¹⁴ Does faith come first or does reason come first? What is the answer in relation to the ontological argument? The answer: The question is fallacious. The question has to do with the field of epistemology not ontology. Anselm never contradicted himself, rather he was investigating two separate disciplines. The being of God reflects the nature and character of God which is discovered in general revelation as well as special revelation. Anselm wanted to know God from both the general and special revelation. "Anselm was the ablest and most influential of the theologians of the eleventh century. . . The argument of the existence of God in the Proslogion is perhaps the most brilliant of all attempts to prove God's existence a priori."^l5

Saint Thomas Aquinas is noted for his "theistic arguments and not really noted for his investigation of the ontological argument. Intelligent human discourse is not possible without acknowledging the law of non-contradiction, the basic reliability of sense perception, and the law of causality. Where Anselm focused on the law of non-contradiction, Aquinas focused on the law of causality. So little is said of Aquinas in relationship to the ontological argument that it leads one to believe that Aquinas assumed the being of God. Norman L. Geisler has written an evangelical appraisal of Aquinas and there one will find Aquinas investigating the being of God. Aquinas saw, as did Anselm, the perfect being, but not as explicit. Aquinas saw the perfections of God in His attributes and from causality. Geisler quotes Aquinas from Summa theologiae: "God not only knows all things in and through himself, but he also causes all things by his knowledge and Being. His Being is the cause of all other beings. But God's Being and knowledge are identical."¹⁶ The causal idea does not prohibit one from the examination of the ontological. It is merely the form of investigating the being of God that makes any difference in Augustine, Anselm, or Aquinas. Aquinas not only considers the causal idea, he also considers the perfections of God. "God is Being par excellence."¹⁷ According to Aquinas these conditions make God a "necessary Being." The metaphysical considerations alone make Aquinas a formidable proponent to investigate the being of God. The Summa Theologica has a consistent reference to the being of God.

In two short paragraphs Saint Thomas used "being" eighteen times. His interest in the ontological character of God is also expressed in De veritate. Here Aquinas shows the relationship between faith and reason. Aquinas said, "the reasoning is the cause of the assent and the assent brings reasoning to a close."¹⁹ This intellectual giant has placed reason before faith at one point but he goes on to say that "assent and reason are on equal terms .²⁰

The AAA scholars, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas, have all spoken to the ontological argument at one place or another. The tragedy is that the students who have followed them have been inconsistent in their hermeneutics and placated their capacious appetites by exploiting the writings of these great church doctors. These scholars should be read like a work in progress to help the Christian world become a light on a hill.

Unbelievers may deny that they are interested in the ontological dimension, but Paul says in Romans 1:18-20 that they are involved whether they like it or not. Christians cannot help but to want to investigate the being of God, because they are driven to their creator by the residual power of the Holy Spirit within them. Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas left a legacy for all people to be challenged to investigate the ontological argument.

Zondervan Publishing House, 1991) p. 284.

2 Van A. Harvey, A Handbook of Theological Terms, (New York: Collier Books, 1964) p. 169.

3. William Barrett and Henry Aiken ed., Philosophy in the Twentieth Century, 4 vols. (New York: Random House, 1962), vol. 3: On the Ontological Mystery, by Gabriel Marcel.

Penguin Books, 1961) p. 144.

6. John H. Gerstner, The Rational Biblical Theology of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 1, (Berea Publications: Powhatan, Virginia and Ligonier Ministries:

Orlando, Florida, 1991) p. 28.

7. B. B. Warf leld, Calvin and Augustine, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974) p. 317.

8. Russ Bush, ed., Classical Readinqs in Christian Apologetics, (Grand

9. John H. Gerstner, Reasons for Faith, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House,

1967) p. 51.

10. Twentieth Centry Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, "God," by Henry Nelson Wieman.

ll. Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1991) vol. 5, p. 600.

l2. Ibid, p. 602.

l4. Ibid., p. 244.

15. Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1963) p. 137.

l6. Norman L. Geisler, Thomas Aquinas, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991) p. 110.

l8. Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica, Anton C. Pegis, ed. (New York:

Random House, 1948) p. 31.

1. Ibid., p. 141.

Martin Murphy

York, Alabama

January 4, 1999